


memento mori

by fiveandhisaxe



Series: Everybody Lives & Nobody Dies [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV), The Umbrella Academy (TV) RPF
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Timeline, Alternate Universe, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Even Number Squad, Everybody Lives, F/M, M/M, Near Death Experience, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Pseudo-Incest, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Seizures, Teamwork makes the dream work, bentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26016745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiveandhisaxe/pseuds/fiveandhisaxe
Summary: "In another timeline, he didn't survive that," Five would say to him. "In another timeline, he didn't have you and Klaus there to bring him back. Remember that. Remember what that means."
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves
Series: Everybody Lives & Nobody Dies [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887784
Comments: 5
Kudos: 116





	memento mori

**Author's Note:**

> Here at "Everybody Lives & Nobody Dies," we strive to keep all our babies happy, healthy, and safe. Unfortunately, we all fall victim to Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting. 
> 
> This is what would've happened if Ben had someone there to pull him back. 
> 
> Enjoy. Xx

Ben didn't know how long he had been in the bathtub. It was long enough that Klaus had stopped talking, soapy hands still moving over his shoulders and upper arms, and instead started humming softly. Diego was leaned back against the ceramic, harness undone, Ben scratching at his scalp absentmindedly. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't sleeping. 

It had been a rough one. They had all taken a hit, but when Ben had been nearly ripped apart by the very monster he had summoned to aid them, it had shaken each of them to their core. 

The memory of it made Diego want to kill something. Or someone.

_ It had taken so much out of Klaus and Diego to pull him back from that, to pull back their boy from the darkness he had fallen into, mask tossed aside, normally warm brown eyes glazed over, pitch black as the night. When he had finally stopped seizing, spit no longer dribbling down his chin, and he went limp in Diego's arms, Luther still hovering over him from where he had been holding him down, he began to sob.  _

_ As Ben's eyes faded back, as Klaus tried to wipe away his tears with the edge of his blazer, as Luther pulled him up and off the tile floor of the Town Hall, Allison's hands pressed over her mouth so as to hold back a scream. Five had finished off the last of the men, the ones Ben's tentacles had not touched, and then he was reappearing right beside them, kneeling down to press his fingers to Ben's neck, to check his pulse, eyes trained on his watch.  _

_ "He's gonna be okay," Five said, looking between them and then back down at Ben, "his pulse is back to normal." That was something they had noticed - when he summoned the monsters, his pulse would go erratic and off the charts, either too fast or too slow, breaking him apart from the inside out. "We need to get him out of here."  _

_ "One, can you handle the press?" Diego spat out, looking back at him.  _

_ Luther, hands shaking, nodded. "Of course. Allison?" She didn't respond. "Three." She finally lowered her hands and looked at him. "You'll handle the press with me?"  _ _ She had to force a nod, sparing one more glance in Ben's direction before squaring her shoulders, readjusting her mask, and starting towards the front doors. Luther nodded and followed after her, very much doing the same.  _

_ "Let me jump him back to the house," Five said quickly, gathering Ben so gently into his arms that Klaus and Diego were taken aback, "Just so Pogo and Grace can get a head start on looking him over. You two go out, save face, I'll be back in less than five minutes. You can stall for me."  _

_ Klaus didn't want him to go. "Five -"  _

_ "You know I'll take care of him," Five replied immediately. "Five minutes or less."  _

_ Diego reached over for Klaus' hand, squeezing it in his own once, twice. "You have three," he said harshly, "and he better get there in one piece, Five, I swear to go-" but then he was gone in a flash of blue light, and it was just Diego and Klaus there, hands still pressed together. "He's right. We have to get outside."  _

_ "He's gonna be okay, right Gogo?" Klaus asked.  _

_ Diego didn't respond.  _

"I think I'm ready to get out," Ben croaked out. The water was tinged pink still, despite them emptying the tub and refilling it twice, adding more sweet-smelling bubble bath each time. "Will you help me, please?" 

"I'm gonna go grab him pajamas," Klaus said, drying off his hands and hurrying from the bathroom. 

Diego stood and grabbed the familiar maroon towel, monogrammed with a "6" in the corner, and pulled it off the hook before moving to help Ben up, holding him steady as he stepped out of the tub and onto the rug. The towels were huge - Grace called them  _ bath sheets _ \- and he was able to bundle Ben up easily, rubbing carefully at his dark hair. 

"I grabbed your hoodie if you want it," Klaus said as he shuffled back in. He had Ben's favorite flannel pajama pants and boxer briefs, still folded as neatly as they had been in the drawer. "But also your blue t-shirt. Just in case." 

"T-shirt," Ben muttered sleepily. "Please?" 

It took a dual effort from Klaus and Diego to wrangle Ben into his clothes, to make sure his hair was at least semi-dry before hanging his towel back up. "Where you wanna sleep tonight?" Diego asked, pushing a few strands of hair away from his own eyes. 

"Your room?" Ben said. "Kay too?" 

"Of course," Klaus replied. 

Diego's room was comfortable. Diego, despite popular belief,  _ liked _ to be comfortable. He liked his pillows and to fall asleep with the baby blanket he'd had forever tucked up against his cheek. And more than anything, he liked to curl up around Ben and reach over to hold one of Klaus' hands as they fell asleep. He liked the way he would wake up with his nose pressed to Ben's neck, how they would all be shoved as close as possible beneath the blankets. 

It was all Diego had ever really wanted - people who loved him. Truly, properly loved him. Because they did, and he knew that by then. He knew that if he wanted to hold someone's hand for a while, he could go find Klaus. If he wanted to cuddle up to someone's chest and be read to, Ben was more than happy to oblige. And fuck, he loved them too. It was terrifying. 

Vanya was waiting in his room. He hadn't been expecting that. "Hey, sorry," she said, holding a plate in her hand, "I just… Five explained what happened, so I figured I'd bring you guys some cookies. I made them with Mom while you guys were gone." She slid the plate onto Diego's nightstand and then shrugged. "Can I…" 

Ben opened his arms just in time for her to rush into them, and a hug from his "baby" sister was just what he needed. "Thanks Vee," he said, kissing her forehead. "I'm okay. Or I will be." 

"Good. Well, I promised Five we could, uh,  _ study _ a bit before bed, so I'll see you at breakfast?" At his nod, she smiled. "Goodnight, brothers." 

"Goodnight, darling sister!" Klaus called out as she left. "I'll miss you until we meet again!" He closed the bedroom door and leaned back against it. “Study my ass.”

"You are such a drama queen," Diego grumbled, moving towards the bed and pulling back the covers. "You good to go, Bentacles?" 

Ben nodded, and he slid in first. "We already brushed our teeth," he said. 

"I don't think one cookie will hurt you," Klaus replied. He slipped under the covers on Ben's right side, scooting until they were hip to hip. "Plus, they look like macadamia. Your favorite." 

Diego's spot was always on Ben's left side, nearest the door, on the side with the nightstand, so he could easily access his knives in the middle of the night, if needed. He reached over to flip off the overhead lights, lamp light soft and low. "If you don't want your cookie, I'll eat it." 

"Don't you  _ dare _ ," Ben said, reaching past him to grab two, passing one to Klaus. "You know the things I would do for a macadamia cookie." He wriggled until he was comfortable between them, finally relaxing for the first time all day. It was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

It was quiet. The cookies were good - they were always good. When Ben was done, he turned on his side to face Klaus and pressed his back against Diego's thigh, tucking his knees up towards his chest. It was  _ quiet _ . Klaus was too exhausted to speak, slipping further beneath the blankets and resting his head beside Ben's, noses nearly touching. When Diego tucked himself properly beneath the blankets, digging around beneath the pillows until he unearthed the worn checkered blanket, some parts nearly threadbare, and laid it out beneath where his cheek would press. 

Carefully, he slid an arm over Ben, wiggling his fingers in Klaus' direction. Klaus took them immediately, and then they were intertwined, arms forming a safety barrier over the half-asleep form of the boy who loved them. 

"Today was scary," Ben finally admitted, and he sniffled. "Promise you won't leave?" 

"Never," Klaus said honestly, moving just far enough to brush their lips together gently, for just a moment. "You're stuck with us." 

"Forever," Diego added, pressing his nose to the back of Ben's neck and sighing, because it was  _ home _ . Home wasn't a place - it was them. It was scary and rubbed his heart raw, but it was true. They held their boy as he cried, soothed him to sleep, and then they fell asleep themselves, Klaus rubbing his thumb over Diego's knuckle until his movements stilled. 

_ "In another timeline, he didn't survive that," Five would say to him. "In another timeline, he didn't have you and Klaus there to bring him back. Remember that. Remember what that means."  _

And Diego would. Forever. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
